Ask Frank DaignaultFrank Daignault is recognized as an authority on surf fishing for striped bass. He is the author of six books and hundreds of magazine articles. Frank is a member of the Outdoor Writers of America and lectures throughout the Northeast.

Our daughter Susan hired a charter guide a couple of years ago and they fished at night. Bill, do you fish for tarpon at night in your woods down there?

Most of my tarpon fishing is off the beach and between 3AM to an hour after dawn. We take tarpon in the lagoon here also and that is mostly a daytime wading proposition. Though some of the guides in the Miami/Marathon area do fish at night, most of those here on the mid-coast don't like to charter at night. I think they may be afraid of the dark.
Bill H

Close to a couple years ago now everyone was freaking out because Uncle Josh stopped making pork rind trailers. Now, I know those rinds have caught thousands of bass, usually in conjunction with a BTJ. Let's think about this for a moment: it's nothing more than a 4 or 5" X 1/2" (usually) that flaps behind a lure. There are plenty of scented (Powerbait... Gulp!... FishBites... Keitech "squid scent" etc.) soft plastics that smell and flap around. ...and when was the last time you heard of a striper feeding on a herd of pigs?

I caught a lot of bass with pork rind on a bucktail. Then I started having an occasional solid hit that the bass let the jig go. While I never actually knew what really happened, it came to me during a brain fart that some hits the pork rind might be folding over the hook point. So I dropped the pork and never had the weird experience of dropped fish again. After that all hits were hook ups. Drop the pork. You might use something soft like a squid strip but those can get stinky.

I read that Billy-the-Greek used pork rind on his BTGs bridge fishing. I too did that until I began wondering what happened when a solid hit suddenly got dropped and I attributed it to folding pork rind over the hook point. Of course we still will never know what happens out there. Even a Smarty like me is not smart enough.

I have only had that "fold over" situation a few of times, usually I fish bucktails with an aggressive motion, slight drop followed immediately with a long lift. I look at the various trailers as different looks you can show the fish, just like changing a plug from a tight swimmer like a Daiwa Minnow to a Bomber with a much more exaggerated roll. I bumped into DZ at a show, so I know he occasionally uses felt. I know guys who use rubber bands too.
What I like about the pig is durability. When ole yellow eyes is present you don't get all the associated bite offs like you would with gulp or curly tails.

Great point. I have often pondered the use of pork-rind because of the fold over. Also, you can catch with a bucktail with nothing trailing, plain. Some also use a squid strip which is a PIA because they can stink.

Frank you probably know this ?
There are a number of manufacturers making bucktails with hackle feathers, extended hair, flash etc. Personally I mostly fish Tidal Tails which is a dead ringer for peanut bunker. It outfishes any bucktail I have tried and I have tried many of them. Also very well made are Jeck's and S&S Bucktails.
There is also a pigskin replacement in the market called Salty Skins by Rocky Shore Tackle. Nice product when you want to thow piggly wiggly at them.

Since we quit commercial fishing there have been a lot of tackle developments that we never learned about. We don't live at the beach, don't sell our catch, and have so much tackle left over from the old days--outfitting for six casters -- we could open a store. I'll bet I have 100 floater Rebels, never wet, still in the box. Also, smarty is the pikie king.

Since we quit commercial fishing there have been a lot of tackle developments that we never learned about. We don't live at the beach, don't sell our catch, and have so much tackle left over from the old days--outfitting for six casters -- we could open a store. I'll bet I have 100 floater Rebels, never wet, still in the box. Also, smarty is the pikie king.

Frank- you might want to think about selling that old tackle on Ebay and turn it into some green for other things like ammo and casino money and--.

The idea of selling on E-Bay is a good one but I just can't get excited about the project. I expect that I would always be offered less than I asked and that would just miff me off, raise my blood pressure. In the seminar business clubs used to always offer me less and I would hang up telling them to screw.

Its just not something that interests me. I am more impressed by the idea that you guys care enough about me to suggest it. I also have this inner fear that I might come upon a situation where a Pikie or Rebel would be perfect and the thought of having dumped them on E-Bay for a fraction of their worth would be highly puke-able.

Never mind fishing tackle. You should see the old muzzle-loader rifles I have. These have been rendered obsolete by the newer long guns being sold today that are cheaper than dirt. No room is left in the gun safe because the good stuff is kept locked up.